Philips Forest, a tree-planting initiative

Philips employees planted more than one thousand trees near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to launch the Philips Forest Initiative.

Their aim was to take concrete measures to tackle climate change and promote healthy lives, but also to raise environmental awareness.

The mixture of trees and shrubs was specially chosen to provide the best resistance to climate change, drought, diseases and storms – and also to provide a great place for other plants to live in, animals to inhabit and people to visit.

The Philips Forest is an initiative of the Philips Foundation, our Sustainability function and Philips Benelux, and was carried out with the support of the Dutch Forestry Service.

Take a look here:

One of the participants, Manpreet Singh, Cyber Security Specialist at Group Security, welcomed the tree-planting initiative: "Wherever we come from, we all share the same earth that increasingly needs protection. That is why I highly appreciate that we as Philips employees have the opportunity to protect it through this wonderful hands-on activity."

Why a Philips Forest?

Philips has an ambitious target to improve the lives of three billion people a year, of which 400 million in developing countries by 2030, by making the world healthier and more sustainable.

The Philips Forest Initiative is in response to the UN's  SDG 3 (healthy lives and promote well-being for all), SDG 13 (take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts) goals and recent studies on climate change and its health effects.

Although tree-planting is a fun activity and great opportunity to get people mobilized, it also helps to raise environmental awareness and the health benefits of clean air. Did you know?

• Many forests are being destroyed by fires, degradation, irresponsible cutting and climate change;
• An area of forest the size of the UK is being lost every year around the world with dire effects on the climate;
• More than one billion people depend on forests for their livelihood;
• Trees help you breathe better because leaves absorb many air pollutants that can cause respiratory diseases;
• Forests are intrinsically linked to human well-being as living near trees can help with anxiety, stress and depression;
• Living near forests will help you fight obesity and diabetis because it encourages people to go out and exercise more.

By starting this project, we want to act upon our corporate and individual responsibility. We want to create awareness about the link between clean air, health, and nature, and motivate Philips employees to contribute to these activities. This is surely a way to #makelifebetter.